New York state briefs

That’s according to the Office of the State Comptroller, which released an audit today of the district’s finances from January 2005 to December 2006.

It found Lake Shore had $11,487 worth of expenses that were unauthorized. The funds included $10,499 for gift certificates, gas cards and other rewards for volunteer firefighters. Additionally, $988 was spent on dinners, including alcoholic beverages. The office determined the One undocumented claim was a credit-card bill for $2,850 that was said to have paid for five airplane tickets. Lake Shore, which serves about 11,300 residents, had a $1.3 million budget in 2006.

Giant sock arrives upstate

HENRIETTA — Designer Susan Zanni will do anything to join people. She loves community events and gatherings. When she heard the Big Sock project is coming to Rochester, she jumped at the chance to have it appear in her shop.

“In this time of world stress, anything I can do to unite people across the world I will do,” she said.

The Big Sock project was started in October 2006 by Englishwoman Joanna Ratcliffe. She wanted to hold a charity knitting event for Britain's National Knitting Week, according to the Big Sock Web site, www.bigsock.org. Ratcliffe decided to break the record for the world’s largest sock.

So, she got it started and sent it around the world; knitters add on to it. . A few months ago, the sock was in Georgia. Next, it will travel to Buffalo and then to Canada.

The current record was set by the Sheep Farmers’ Association of Austria, who made a sock about 16 feet long. The sock now being knit is less than halfway done, but will reach 16 feet by the time the knitters get to the sock’s heel, the Web site said. Once the sock reaches the heel, it will go back to England, where Ratcliffe will turn the heel.

The sock is a medley of colors ranging from blue, green, red to yellow. It completely covered the table Zanni’s shop, the Yarne Source. About six people were working on the sock in Zanni’s shop as of 5:30 p.m. Oct. 25.

Battening down the hatches on the Erie Canal

PITTSFORD — As the winter season approaches, towns and villages surrounding Rochester are preparing for the annual closing of the Erie Canal. The process begins in early November.

Winterizing the canal is no simple task. First, it needs to be drained, so the banks can be inspected and repairs made.

Guard locks, which allow water traffic to move from one level of the canal to another by raising and lowering water levels, play an important part in moving water for winterizing, says Kevin Lynch, operator of lock 32 in here.

"Basically, to de-water, a guard gate is lowered in Pendleton, west of Lockport, which puts a stop to the entering of water from the Niagara River region into the Erie Canal," said Lynch, 50, of Holley. "After that, guard locks are lowered on sides of the Genesee River to isolate it, and canal water is then released to the streams of the Niagara, Monroe, and Orleans counties through openings in the sides of the canal."

The preparation and maintenance required to close down — and open — the canal for the season has been the same since it opened in 1825. With the New York State Canal System, the Erie Canal itself covers an area of approximately 363 miles.

Drive-thru Dunkin' Donuts? Oy vay!

BRIGHTON — Residents of this Rochester suburb with a large Jewish population are divided over plans to convert the kosher Dunkin' Donuts on heavily traveled Monroe Avenue into a drive-thru.

Representatives for CAM Realty Corp., the owner of the store, went in front of the town’s Planning Board back in June and were met with opposition by numerous residents. Last week, a second presentation was given with much the same results.
“You can have all the slideshows in the world," said Michael Miller, representing neighborhood businesses. "But common sense wold tell you it would have a negative impact on Monroe Avenue.”

The main concerns: noise, garbage and altered traffic flow. Sue Geier and her husband live near the Monroe Avenue Dunkin’ Donuts and said that the increased traffic would create a problem for pedestrians.

But Rabbi Sheldon Kilimnick said that he thinks the drive-through would be a benefit since people would be spending more time in their cars and less time walking in and out of the store, creating a safer area to drive around the store.

Ron Zour said that the kosher Dunkin’ Donuts provides and invaluable service to the local Jewish community and he worries that if a drive-through isn’t allowed, business could slump and the store might change its menu to a non-kosher one.

The place "is important to me and it’s important to a lot of people,” he said.
No final decision about the proposed changes were made by the Planning Board.

Community Info

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